


Valentine's Disaster

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 21:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17795255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: It's Valentine's Day on Jorvik, but the day is interrupted by two idiots. Jay and Astor belong to SpaceUnicornDot, Willow and Shane belong to willownorthbook, Louisa is mine, Daine belongs to HellishSam, Ali belongs to BookwormSupreme, Olivia belongs to east-valley on tumblr, Ella belongs to ellawolfpaw on tumblr, Tyler and Viktor belong to sso_Viktor7, Ariana belongs to inappropriatestarstable and Roo belongs to fieldingfreja.





	Valentine's Disaster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HellishSam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellishSam/gifts), [SpaceUnicornDot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceUnicornDot/gifts), [willownorthbook](https://archiveofourown.org/users/willownorthbook/gifts), [BookwormSupreme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookwormSupreme/gifts), [sso_Viktor7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sso_Viktor7/gifts), [copperheadpony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperheadpony/gifts), [inappropriatestarstable](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inappropriatestarstable/gifts).



Jay often found himself witnessing the sun rising beyond the mountains of his Mistfall home. Once, he'd ridden all the way out to the sleepy village of Dundull to try to capture the beauty of the sunrise over the water with his camera phone (one of the best things about humans, the technology that enabled one to make phone calls while also taking photographs and storing notes and playing games and browsing the internet, it was fascinating). He'd even considered asking Oskar (the man who rowed the boat around between Dundull, South Hoof, and Fort Pinta, not Willow's father Oskar) to take him out in his boat so that he could get better photos to sketch.

But this morning, it wasn't for any aesthetic reason that Jay sat at the kitchen table, not any nightmare that had dragged Jay from his bed with Willow. No, this was anxiety of a whole different kind. An anxiety that welled solely from the ring box that he held in his hand. It was an emerald green, the same shade as Willow's eyes. Jay opened the ring box and his heart leaped at the sight of the jewel-encrusted ring, a line of diamonds weaving with a line of emeralds and, in the centre, a large square blue stone. He smiled, though, as he looked at it, watching the gems glitter in the light filtering in through the kitchen window.

At the sound of movement, though, Jay snapped the ring box closed and shoved it back into the pocket of his blue flannel. He looked up, smiling, as Willow padded into the kitchen, stretching and glancing down at the veritable herd of animals that swarmed around her feet.

"I have actually fed them," said Jay as Willow opened the fridge door. She looked tired, but nothing a decent breakfast and hot cup of tea wouldn't fix. Brooks had given them a good morning blend of tea, to help wake them up better than coffee.

"All of you are liars," said Willow to the animals at her feet, taking the milk out of the fridge before making her way over to the bench. She closed her eyes with a sigh after checking the water level in the jug.

"I've made us a pot," said Jay, holding up the teapot. Willow smiled at him and leaned down, kissing his cheek as she hugged him from behind.

"Thank you," said Willow. "You're treating me because it's Valentine's Day, I know you are, but I love you anyway."

"What? No, I would've done this anyway," said Jay, smiling at her. Willow blushed, taking a seat and pouring herself a cup of tea before adding a dash of milk.

"You're too good to me," said Willow.

"Nothing is too good for you," said Jay.

"Stop," said Willow, blushing as she raised the teacup to her lips and inhaled the delicious scent of it.

"The day I stop complimenting you will be the day that I cease to draw breath," said Jay. Willow couldn't stop grinning, nor could she stop blushing. But anxiety still tugged at her stomach as she thought of what day it was. Jay had hinted to her last night that she should get plenty of rest because today would be good, but it was Valentine's Day, and they'd been dating for three years, so something was bound to happen. Plus, Jay had gotten up early, as though he was nervous. Which only made Willow more nervous.

"I don't know if I'll be able to eat anything," said Willow, fiddling with the long sleeves of her winter pyjamas.

"What? Why not?" Jay asked, his attention immediately on her.

"I dunno, I'm just- nervous about today, I guess," said Willow, shrugging. Jay took Willow's hands in his own, his usually-charcoal-smudged hands clean today. It worried Willow slightly, but Jay didn't look as frazzled as he usually did after a nightmare. He was fine. So then why was he up so early?

"Don't be," said Jay. "It'll be fine. We'll just go on a lovely date, it'll be like any other day. Only more special today because it's Valentine's Day."

"I know, I know," said Willow. She sighed. "I guess I'm just worried about how big you'll go."

"You'll see," said Jay. Though he was a little worried now, especially with the ring box burning a hole in his pocket. It wasn't an engagement ring, not yet, not when Willow was really in no place to be thinking about the future. When none of them were in a place to be thinking about the future. He knew that two of Willow's friends were engaged to their significant others, and that was fine, but a promise ring was more Willow. A promise to always be with her, without the pressure of her having to plan a wedding on top of the fate of the world hanging in the balance. And yet, he'd still asked Oskar and Shane for their permission. Some might say that that was a little outdated and that Willow could make her own decisions, but Jay wanted them to know what he was doing, what he had planned for them. And they'd given their permission, had given him hugs that had stilled the shaking, had told him that they were so, so happy that Willow had found him, had told him that they trusted him with Willow's heart.

Though Willow had said that she wasn't hungry, Jay still got up and made them breakfast, taking it outside so that they could eat as the rising sun warmed the frost from the ground and woke them better than anything else could.

Not far away, in the mountains above Firgrove, another couple was having a rather different awakening. Louisa shivered in the denim jacket that she'd thrown on that morning, having figured that it would be enough, that the day would warm up. She hadn't counted on her fiancee waking her up to go riding up to the cliff at dawn, to recreate their very first date. Smokeeye was shivering too, though, and grumbling about how she should have stayed home. But Starshine kept her going with friendly nickers and swishes of his luxurious blue tail.

"Come on," said Lisa, laughing as she looked back at her shivering fiancee. "I'll give you my jacket when we get there." Louisa narrowed her eyes at her fiancee but clicked Smokeeye onwards, her bay andalusian easily finding the path that they'd first ridden up here years ago.

Back then, Smokeeye had spooked a little at the wolves, and Louisa's stomach had been a tangle of nerves, her hands almost too numb to hold the reins. Her friends had all encouraged her to go up here, saying that she could do it herself, that this could be a date with the woman who she was clearly smitten with. And now? They were engaged, they were living together, they were going to be married within the year. Maybe even in the following month. But Louisa tried not to think about that as she rode past the wolves, glancing at the Life Warden that seemed to chime with music that she heard more in her mind than with her ears.

"You remember the way?" Lisa asked, glancing back at Louisa again as they rode down into the dip past the tree.

"I could ride it in my sleep," said Louisa, smiling. Lisa gestured her forward and Louisa rode past her, taking the familiar worn path over the tiny rock wall and down over the stone, skirting thorny bushes. Of course, it was very high up and Smokeeye's hooves were large, but her mare knew the path as well as her rider.

"Are we too early?" Lisa asked once she'd joined her fiancee sitting on the rock ledge, the wind whipping their hair about their ears. Louisa shivered again so Lisa removed her mother's leather jacket that she always wore, placing it over Louisa's shoulders. Louisa beamed at her, very much enjoying the feeling of fleece warming her skin.

"Wait for it," said Louisa, straining her ears. And then, she heard it- the sound of a harp, swelling into the air around them, playing the most beautiful melody. Aideen's melody. Louisa closed her eyes, a blissful smile spreading across her face at the sound of the beautiful song. Her hand found Lisa's without even trying, their fingers linking together.

Times like these made getting up at sunrise worth it.

In Valedale, a young woman snorted awake in her loft. Ella blinked her eyes open, peering around before sitting up and rubbing her eyes, then sliding her glasses up her nose. Something seemed off. Not just because she was currently staying in a cabin that Elizabeth had given her, but because it seemed... quiet. Too quiet. Frostnova, her Jorvik Warmblood, was still outside, Ella could hear her moving around every so often. But Richnova, her Richard? He was gone.

"Richard," Ella muttered, swinging herself out of bed before changing into everyday clothes and sliding down the ladder into the main area of her house. And, sure enough, when she checked outside, Richard was gone.

It was only when she unlocked her phone to ask the group chat if they'd seen Richard that she realised what day it was. She groaned, putting her phone back into her pocket before sitting down to her meagre breakfast of toast and coffee. Knowing Rich, he probably knew what day it was, which meant that he was probably over on South Hoof or somewhere with Trouble. She'd ask Louisa later. She'd also feign innocence if and when someone in Valedale noticed that all of the bushes had been stripped of their roses. She really hoped that Rich hadn't hurt himself on the thorns.

Over on South Hoof, where one couple had left hours ago, a man tightened his arms around his fiance as Ydris tried to leave the bed.

"Mon phenix, I must unfortunately leave you for a few minutes," said Ydris. Daine made an annoyed noise, burying his face in Ydris' chest.

"It's Valentine's Day," said Daine. "Stay in bed with me." Ydris gave his fiance a warm smile as he stroked his fingers through Daine's curly black hair.

"Ah, and miss out on breakfast in bed? I think not," said Ydris. Daine groaned, then raised his head to kiss Ydris before relinquishing his grip on his fiance. At once, Ydris missed the warmth. But it would be worth it, he told himself, to give his fiance a Valentine's Day that he'd never forget.

"Fine," Daine huffed. "But I'm going to hang out with Astor."

"Try not to have too much fun without me," said Ydris as he rose from the bed. Daine pulled the covers back around himself and rolled over to go back to sleep. He’d wake up to the smell of cooked food, probably chocolate chip pancakes, and that thought brought a smile to his face.

Astor had awoken at a regular time for rising, not too terribly long after sunrise, but the sun was well and truly risen by the time he put his feet up in the living room after feeding his many cats.

"They've been fed," he called as he heard the sounds of Evergray moving about in the kitchen.

"Ha! Your father dobbed you in," said Evergray, and Astor shook his head, smiling, as his husband talked to the cats as though they were children. Which, well, they were.

A pale ginger tabby padded into the living room, meowing loudly.

"I fed you," said Astor. His cat meowed again. "I was there."

"Meow," Prince Whiskers III protested.

"Nyeh," said Astor, poking his tongue out and shaking his head at the cat.

"Ah, I see you're talking to the cat again," said Evergray.

"I am sassing him, excuse you," said Astor, sipping from his tea mug. It had '#1 Daddy' written on the pink mug in bright yellow letters, for the sole purpose of annoying Daine.

"I believe you," said Evergray, disappearing back into the kitchen. He poked his head back out a second alter, though. "Oh, and I'm planning a surprise for you today so don't go too far."

"No journeys into Ashland, then, got it," said Astor. Evergray frowned at him but then blew his husband a kiss, which Astor caught with his hand. "Love you."

"I love you too," said Evergray.

"Let's bother a kid," said Astor as he unlocked his phone and scrolled through his list of contacts. They were probably all on dates, but it was worth a shot.

Daine's phone buzzed on his nightstand, causing his head to emerge from under the covers as he frowned in annoyance at his phone. But he picked it up, though he didn't move from his bed. He hadn’t moved since Ydris had left after sharing breakfast (and more than a few kisses).

"Yeah?" Daine asked, his voice rough from falling back asleep.

"Linguine! Come play with me, I'm bored," said Astor. Daine sighed.

"Y'know what? Why not?" said Daine, sitting up in bed. "Ydris is setting up a date for today anyway. I'll just get dressed and come over."

"Oh, are you naked?" Astor asked. "Ah well, like father, like son."

"Actually, I've changed my mind," said Daine, scowling uncomfortably.

"No no no! I promise, I won't bring up your father anymore today," said Astor. "Please?"

"Okay but only because I'm bored," said Daine. "And I have nothing better to do."

"Yay!" Astor cheered. "I'll set up Mario Kart."

"Oh, you're fucking on," said Daine. "I'll be there to kick your ass in a bit."

"Not if I kick yours first!" Astor retorted before Daine ended the call. Tossing his phone on the bed, Daine rubbed his hands down his face before beginning the search for his pants. If Ydris had something special planned for today, well, he could just wait for his fiance to go home and get changed. Daine was going to just wear the jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie that he'd worn yesterday. After all, he was only seeing Astor. And his turquoise sweatshirt was one of his favourites.

After saddling up Wisp, Daine rode across South Hoof, the early morning chilly air blowing his hair back. His Clydesdale seemed to enjoy the chance to stretch his legs, too. He also enjoyed the company of Merlin, Astor's dapple grey Clydesdale, when Daine stopped and dismounted Wisp outside of Astor and Evergray's curious little bigger-on-the-inside cottage.

"You kids be good," said Daine, giving Wisp's withers a pet. Wisp blew Daine's hair back from his face, making the man laugh.

"Astor, your son's here!" Evergray called into the house after opening the front door to Daine's knock. Daine sighed.

"Which one?" Astor called back.

"Linguine!" Evergray called back. At Astor's cackle, Daine rolled his eyes and pushed past Evergray.

"Hello, linguine," said Astor, raising his tea mug to his lips. Daine chose to ignore the slogan on it that Astor had vandalised to read 'daddy' instead of 'dad'.

"Asstor," said Daine, taking a seat in one of the comfy beanbag chairs that were set out in front of Astor's huge flat screen TV. It wasn't the same flat screen that had been there last time, though, because Daine had seen a Wiimote go through that one (a moment of silence had been had while Jay had looked concerned in the background and Willow had tackled Daine for ruining the game).

"Ready for an old man to kick your ass, ravioli?" Astor asked, grinning at Daine. Daine picked up his controller, glaring at Astor.

"Only if you're ready to admit that I'm the winner," said Daine.

"In your dreams, meatball," said Astor, starting up the game. They selected their characters and cars, but Evergray had to come in and choose the track because the two men threatened to burn the house down with their disagreement over which track to race on.

While Daine played video games with his adopted (but not really anymore after learning that Astor had dated and was still dating his father, it was confusing and Daine chose to not worry about it) father, others across the island were starting to put their Valentine's Day preparations into practice.

In a house halfway between Marley's Farm and Silverglade Equestrian Centre, Shane Steelport looked at himself in the bathroom mirror as he pulled on his nicest dress shirt. He pulled a black leather jacket over it, but it was okay because Via loved the look of him in leather. Just like he loved the look of his girlfriend in her skirts and nice blouses and knee-high socks and red lipstick. God, Via was beautiful.

After combing his black hair back, Shane lit a candle and concentrated on the smoke that rose from it. Yes, the scent of the wax was delightful, but he needed to concentrate. He couldn't afford to be distracted today by the scent of roses or the scent of Via's perfume or anything like that. This was important.

Carefully, Shane tapped into the powers that had emerged when he'd stood in front of the runestones and found himself wreathed in smoke. He hadn't expected to discover new things about himself when he'd decided to join Wills' new group of friends, but now, he'd discovered something fun in playing with smoke. And, as he watched the smoke carefully now, Shane crafted the smoke into a heart-shaped ring. He smiled as the smoke ring blew past himself, probably leaving behind a lingering scent but never mind. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as the stench of cigarette smoke that had hung around him for years.

South Hoof was usually filled with the sounds of horses, gulls, and wind, but today, the yapping of small dogs could be heard as Ali Archdotter stepped through the gate of the rescue ranch. She laughed as dogs jumped up around her horse's legs, making the gelding pin his ears back.

"Hey now, careful!" Ali laughed down at the dogs.

"Hey, pups!" a man called, and whistled sharply. The dogs all broke away from Ali's steed, instead running towards the young man who'd called them. Rolfe laughed as he bent down and rubbed their soft ears and furry necks.

"Thanks," said Ali, grinning at her boyfriend as a blush coloured her cheeks. She rode over to leave Moonshadow outside the stable, trusting that he would graze there. Maybe Nightdust might come by for a visit, or Madison might decide to come out and play with the horse.

"Hey there," said Rolfe, grinning at the sight of his girlfriend. Ali had even dressed nice today, in a little sun dress. Ali was still blushing, looking down so that her blonde hair (down today) fell into her eyes.

"I hope I didn't overdress," said Ali, looking down at her dress.

"You? Nah, you look beautiful," said Rolfe. "And here I am, in nice jeans and a flannel."

"I think you look pretty nice," said Ali, stopping in front of him.

"Thanks," said Rolfe, blushing. Ali leaned in and kissed his cheek. He smelled of dog, as he always did, but that wasn't an unpleasant smell. Just as he'd told her many times that the scent of horses and herbs that followed her everywhere wasn't unpleasant.

"Let's go set up our picnic?" Ali asked.

"Yes, let's," said Rolfe. They were planning on just having a sweet little picnic by the Singing Yew, taking the dogs along with them.

Jorvik Stables was a little busier this morning, with two horses taking up most of the arena showing each other their dressage moves. Viktor leaned against the fence, watching King and Phantom show off their fancy piaffes and bows. A smile curled the corners of his lips as he watched them, feeling Phantom's happiness even from here. But he stayed on the outskirts of Phantom's mind, not wanting to intrude on his thoughts of his fancy boyfriend. He didn't want to know everything, after all, just as he usually closed off the connection just slightly when he was spending time with Tyler.

Thankfully, Tyler saw that Viktor was in the bottom arena when he arrived at Jorvik Stables. He breathed a sigh of relief as he dismounted Fairytale and walked over to speak with Johanna, who was busy putting some hay into the hay troughs for the horses.

"Johanna, hey!" said Tyler, jogging over to her.

"Oh, hey, Tyler," said Johanna, turning to smile at him. "What's up?"

"I want to do something special for Vik," said Tyler. "Since it's Valentine's Day."

"What, and you thought since I'm a girl, I know everything about romance?" Johanna asked, folding her arms in front of her chest and raising an eyebrow.

"And I know you won't tell him," said Tyler.

"Well, you could do the Valentine's race with him," said Johanna. "I think Lowe is setting it up later today if you don't mind waiting a while. We'll just have to try getting King and Phantom out of the arena before then." Tyler laughed.

"Good luck," said Tyler. "But are you sure the race would be good?"

"Your boyfriend loves racing, Ty," said Johanna, a hand on her hip. "I'm sure he'll love it."

"If you're sure," said Tyler. Johanna smiled.

"I am," said Johanna. "Now go, enjoy spending the day with your boyfriend."

But in Jarlaheim, just down the road from Jorvik Stables, it was not a boyfriend on Ariana's mind. Hadn't been for a long time, really. For a while, there had been only one blind girl on her mind. And Ariana didn't need to dress nice, she didn't need to put on makeup, she didn't need to do her hair really nice, but Ariana still found herself fretting over her appearance in the bathroom mirror. She sighed, tossing another shirt on her bed.

"I could go naked," said Ariana, throwing her hands in the air. "Hell, I'm naked enough most of the time anyway!"

"I refuse to take you anywhere if you don't have a stitch of clothing on," Lion pitched in from where he still stood in Jorvik Stables in his stall.

"Fuck off, Lion, I'm not gonna get arrested for public indecency on Valentine's Day," said Ariana. "At least, not for that reason." She winked and, though Lion couldn't see it, he still groaned down their mental bond.

At last, Ariana decided on a nice pair of jeans and a nice band t-shirt. Her usual attire, but she had on her best underwear too. Just in case.

"Eat shit, rigatoni!" Astor screeched as his avatar in Mario Kart flung a red shell at Daine's. Daine grit his teeth as Astor passed him.

"Fuck you!" Daine snapped back at him.

"Well, I am a bottom, so I'll let your father do that," said Astor. Daine nearly snapped his controller in half. Fuck. Now he owed Ariana twenty bucks.

"Oh, you're fucking dead," said Daine as he got back into the game. Every time he picked up a red shell, he waited until he was close to Astor before flinging it at him.

"Hey! You have to respect your elders!" Astor cried indignantly as Daine sped past him.

"Old man," Daine taunted.

"Your daddy doesn't seem to mind," said Astor. Daine's eye twitched as he let himself fall back in the race.

"Don't ever say that again," said Daine.

"What? Daddy?" Astor asked. Daine twitched, gritting his teeth. But when he picked up another shell, he grinned.

"Hey, Astor," said Daine, smirking as he kept close to Astor.

"What?" said Astor, his voice flat. He grumbled as Daine hit him with a succession of red shells.

"Ha!" Daine cheered triumphantly as he crossed the finish line a second before Astor. He jumped to his feet, dancing around Astor and laughing at him. "I told you I could beat you, old man!" Astor glared at him and got to his feet, tossing the controller back onto the armchair that he'd been sitting in. A zap of magic formed a red turtle shell in his hand, and Daine's eyes widened as he immediately stopped jumping around.

"How'd you like a taste of your own medicine?" Astor asked. "Meatball?" Daine whimpered and ran outside, Astor following him.

"C'mon, Wisp, we gotta go!" Daine called, digging his heels into Wisp's sides after launching himself into the saddle. Wisp reared up for a moment before taking off, galloping into the woods with Daine on his back cursing up a storm.

"Get back here, ravioli!" Astor called, following on Merlin. He didn't even ride using a saddle, instead sitting cross-legged hovering just above his horse's dapple grey back.

"Never!" Daine called back, not taking his eyes from the sprawling Everwind Fields that stretched out in front of him. His eyes widened, though, when he saw the patch of flowers that they were barrelling towards, and the two people sitting in the midst of all of those flowers. Willow was dressed so nice, wearing a little pale blue dress for once, almost matching her hair but not quite. Jay had probably said something poetic about it, something like-

"I don't mind that your dress matches your hair," said Jay, leaning towards Willow to stroke his finger through a curl of her hair, dyed dark blue. It looked almost like the gem in the ring that was currently burning a hole in his pocket.

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, blushing at how close he was. Jay smiled and kissed her.

"It's like your dress is the sky, and your hair is the ocean," said Jay. "Both blue, both vast, but both immeasurably beautiful."

"Jay," said Willow, blushing. Jay smiled fondly at her, such love in his eyes that Willow could barely believe it. But she was getting used to seeing it there.

"Sorry, Willow!" Daine called, and Willow jumped, startled, looking around as Daine rode past her on Wisp, her carefully-grown flowers being trampled under his huge hooves.

"Daine!" Willow chastised.

"Don't make me yell Timber!" Astor called, and Jay and Willow ducked under the shadow of a huge horse as Merlin leaped over them.

"Daine, what the hell?" Willow yelled, watching her adopted brother and the man who'd adopted them all charge off in the direction of the manor.

Shane had arrived a little earlier to set up a nice little romantic space at Silverglade Equestrian Centre between the shops and the manor itself, near the side entrance that led up to the rooftop cafe. But Shane had decided not to indulge his girlfriend's love of climbing to high places today, instead opting to set up on the ground. He had a little stage set up where he planned on playing his guitar while using his smoke manipulation to weave a beautiful smokescreen around himself.

"Wow, you've really gone all out," said Via, looking around with wide eyes at the beautiful space. There was even a little table, probably borrowed from the rooftop cafe, dressed with a purple tablecloth (it smelled faintly of grapes, thus giving away where the colouring came from), a single candle, and a vase of roses plucked from the winery garden (though there had been an incident earlier that morning so there were less roses than usual).

"Hey, it's for you," said Shane, smiling at his girlfriend. "Nothing is too much for you." And Via blushed and leaned up to kiss him.

"You sweet talker," said Via, taking a seat at the table after Shane pulled her chair out for her.

"You love it," said Shane, gracing her with one more kiss on the top of her head before he walked back to the stage and picked up his guitar. The candles that he'd set down on either end of the stage gave off a beautiful scent, like wintergreens. Via could only smile at the scent of it, closing her eyes for a moment before she opened them again and then rested her chin on her hands as she watched Shane play for her. The music was beautiful, as were the beautiful shapes that Shane began to weave in the smoke. Music notes and galloping horses and little love hearts. As the music swelled, Shane formed a larger love heart, this one almost like a ring, and blew it towards Via. But they hadn't heard the sound of galloping hooves over the sound of the music, so they both cried out in shock as a large black and white Clydesdale leaped through the smoke, dissipating it.

"Shane, help me!" Daine, the rider, screamed as he rode his horse around the side of the stage.

"Shane can't save you now!" Astor boomed as he followed on his dapple grey. Merlin gave a whinny, sounding almost demonic to Daine's ears.

As Daine raced off again, headed for the circus this time, Via used water from her glass to send a spray of snow after Daine.

"You're dead, Mountainhome!" she called after him.

"Shit," Shane cursed, and Via whirled to find the curtains of the stage catching fire. Quickly, she drew water from the air and froze the candles solid. "Well, there goes that."

"I still enjoyed it anyway, though," said Via, taking Shane's hand and giving it a squeeze as she smiled at him. Shane smiled back at her.

Beyond the winery, Daine and Wisp charged up the hill, red shells slamming into the ground around Wisp's hooves. Wisp neighed, eyes rolling in fear, and easily hopped the fence that separated the aptly-named highland from the rest of the Silverglade region.

"Help me," said Daine as he rode over to where Ydris was standing outside of the big top.

"What?" Ydris asked. "Whatever is the matter, my phoenix?" The answer came in the form of a dapple grey Clydesdale leaping the fence.

"Oh, don't hide behind your breadstick!" Astor taunted.

"Gottagobye!" Daine called, and rode off with more red shells in hot pursuit. Ydris watched them go, frowning in confusion. He just hoped that Daine would still come back for their date later.

Daine raced through Greendale, the trees passing by him in a blur as squirrels ran from not only Wisp's thundering hooves but also the red shells that still hit the ground all around them.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Daine muttered, ducking as a shell whizzed overhead and burst through the canopy of leaves. He twisted in his saddle to face Astor. "Oi, that one almost hit me!"

"That's the idea, macaroni!" Astor called back, already launching another shell. Daine gave a scream and hurtled onwards, heading into Jarlaheim on a whim. Maybe someone there would be able to save him from the madman.

Tyler's plans for riding the special Valentine's race with Viktor vanished into thin air the moment he saw his boyfriend in the arena. Viktor rode Phantom, performing a fancy dressage routine while a white Andalusian looked on with love in his eyes.

"I hope you're not looking at that man, because he's mine," said Tyler, nudging the tall horse's withers. The gelding snorted and seemed to shake his head. "Oh, you're looking at the horse instead?" The white horse nickered. "Ohh, is he your boooyfriend?" Tyler grinned and the horse snorted. "I'll take that as a yes."

Tyler leaned against the fence, giving a loving sigh as he watched Phantom prance around under the guidance of Viktor. By Aideen, they were a gorgeous pair.

But then, just as Viktor was working into a series of curls, Phantom's ears suddenly pinned as two men on Clydesdales rode down into the arena, right through the middle of it. Phantom gave a sharp neigh and reared up, but Viktor clung on, cursing in Spanish at having his special routine for his boyfriend so rudely interrupted.

"Astor," Tyler cried in dismay. Though he frowned at the strange red shell-shaped objects that were slamming into the ground and then dissipating. Why and how was Astor throwing Mario Kart red shells at Daine?

"I'm sorry!" Daine called, his voice trailing off as he ran through Jorvik Stables and then turned to head back through Jarlaheim.

Thing were going quite well on Ali and Rolfe's date. They'd set up at the Singing Yew, sitting on a picnic blanket while they enjoyed the fresh fruits of the many orchards around Jorvik. The dogs played around them, yapping and rolling and generally acting like very good dogs.

"This is why I love it here," said Rolfe with a sigh as he lay back on the picnic blanket with a happy sigh. "It's so quiet and peaceful. Normal." Ali barely stifled a laugh, though she did smile. Oh, if only Rolfe knew just how much went on beneath the surface... but people like Rolfe were the sole reason why Ali fought. For a better future for everyone, for people like Rolfe, so that they never had to know about the eternal war of good vs evil.

But then, a thunder could be heard in the distance. Ali frowned, looking up at the clear blue sky. But then she tensed, remembering the last time they'd heard thunder like this. When the wild herd of South Hoof had been disrupted, frightened by the horse smugglers Carl and Anwir.

"Are you okay?" Rolfe asked, seeing the sudden tenseness that had entered Ali's posture.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Ali. "Just worried that the horse herd will disrupt our date."

"Oh, don't worry, they won't," said Rolfe. "Hugh says that the wild horses here are generally peaceful, and there's nothing much to spook them. Beyond one incident, but I hear that you were involved in bringing that one to a happy conclusion."

"I was," said Ali, smiling at him. Gazing into his warm brown eyes, Ali moved closer to Rolfe, their heads moving closer together slowly before their lips finally met.

And then the dogs started barking, and Ali sprang away, looking around with wide eyes.

 

"Pups, come here!" Rolfe called, sounding panicked, and the dogs got out of the way just in time before Daine raced past on Wisp with Astor quickly following behind on Merlin, still hovering above his horse's back.

"Well, so much for peaceful," said Ali with a sigh.

"What was that?" Rolfe asked, his eyes wide as he watched the horses recede into the distance. "Was that guy floating? And was he throwing Mario shells?"

"Don't worry about it," said Ali, running her hands through her blonde hair. She looked at their picnic spread and groaned. The horses' hooves had flung up clods of grass and dirt onto the picnic blanket and half the food. "Great, now the picnic's ruined. Thanks, Daine and Astor."

Almost without realising what he was doing, Daine rode onto the ferry and then stared back at Astor with wide eyes as the other man rode Merlin onto the ferry at a leisurely trot, a red shell in his hand.

"Oh fuck," Daine whispered. A sudden, childish whim struck him, and he grabbed onto the side of the driver's cabin. "I'm on bar!"

"I'm sorry, are you five?" Astor asked, a look of bemusement spreading across his face.

"N-no?" Daine asked. Astor shook his head.

"However, I will obey the sacred law of the Bar," said Astor, folding his arms and making the shell disappear. "However, as soon as the ferry reaches the other dock, I will pelt you with red shells."

"Got it," said Daine, nodding.

A rain of red shells followed Daine as he raced off the ferry, galloping up onto the road that led away from Fort Pinta. Maybe he could lose Astor in Mistfall, or recruit the rangers to help. As he raced along the road, Daine heard Astor cursing in Latin at him, to which he responded with a string of Italian.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Astor called.

"Do you kiss yours with your mouth?" Daine retorted, realising the trap the second the words were out of his mouth. Oh no. Astor grinned, and Daine screamed as he poured on the speed. But he couldn't escape it.

"No, but I kiss your father!" Astor called, and cackled wildly even while more shells exploded behind Wisp.

In the end, it had been Rania who'd decided on her and Ariana's date location.

"Of course it had to be wolves," Lion muttered as they stopped and Ariana dismounted while Rania easily dismounted Dellingr. Not for the first time, Ariana found herself in awe at Rania's ease with navigating the world, even without the aid of sight.

"It's like how we first met," said Rania, smiling as she inhaled the scent of the very nearby wolves.

"Yeah, kind of," said Ariana. Hopefully it wouldn't end the same way. "Are you sure this is safe, though?"

"What, don't you trust me?" Rania asked, and Ariana swore that Rania's cloudy eyes glowed.

"Of course I trust you," said Ariana. She trusted Rania more than she trusted a lot of other people, honestly.

"Great! Then help me get these sandwiches out," said Rania. Ariana nodded and walked over to Dellingr's saddlebags, taking out the sandwiches which were kept in a cool bag and wrapped with cling film. There were also a few apples and berries in there, and thankfully this time the berries weren't squashed. But there were also two water bottles, not Go! Energy but rather water bottles that Rania had brought from home. Ariana remembered smuggling alcohol to school in these, smiling fondly at the memory.

As they sat down to eat, Ariana was even more glad that Rania had thoughtfully only packed vegetarian sandwiches. The smell of meat would only entice the wolves over. But somehow, the salad sandwiches hadn't made the bread go soggy. Sigry probably had some secret to that, no doubt. Or maybe it was Rania.

"I'd probably feel a bit safer sitting on the ledge above the wolves' den, to be honest," said Ariana.

"Yeah, well, someone lives there now," said Rania, shrugging.

"Dammit, Jay," said Ariana with a huff before she took a bite of her sandwich. She had to ask someone how to make these, because they were good.

After lunch was eaten, Ariana snuggled closer to Rania on the picnic blanket that Rania had brought from home.

"I love living here," said Rania, giving a happy sigh as Ariana's fingers gently played with her hair.

"It's definitely very pretty," said Ariana.

"If you say she's the prettiest thing here, I'll gag," said Lion from where he was trying his best to hide behind a tree. Dellingr watched him, looking as amused as a Haflinger could look.

"Not that I can see that anymore," said Rania with a laugh. But she never sounded self-deprecating. Even despite losing her sight, despite the hardships that Skoll had put them through, the whole kerfuffle with GED, Rania still greeted each day with a smile. And Ariana loved that about her. Ariana gently touched Rania's lips, the signal for moving in for a kiss, and their lips came together in a kiss that was gentler than any Ariana had ever known. Far gentler than she felt she deserved.

"What was that?" Lion asked, his voice intruding on Ariana's thoughts as she found herself slipping into a spiral of thoughts of how much she loved her girlfriend. Ariana mentally shoved him aside, but then she heard it, too- the thunder of hooves and something else crashing through the undergrowth.

"Aaaaa I'm so sorry!" Daine cried as he rode past the pair on a galloping Wisp. He rode a little too close to the wolves' den, though, startling the wolves into a snarling, frightened mass.  
"Shit," Ariana cursed, jumping to her feet and helping Rania quickly pack away the picnic things. They hadn't even gotten to share berries yet. "Lion!" she called as her gelding ran off, and then threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine, be that way! Fucking typical cowardly lion."

"It's okay, you can hitch a ride on Dellingr," said Rania, gently touching Ariana's elbow. "It'll be okay." Her smile was so bright, so perfect. And Ariana still found that she trusted this young woman completely.

And, as they made their hasty retreat back through the forest, the wolves chasing Daine and Astor, Ariana reflected that now, it was just like their first meeting- chased by wolves. Only this time, Ariana had her arms wrapped around Rania's waist. Maybe it was better this way, even with the fear of the wolves.

On a high ledge that overlooked all of Silverglade, Louisa closed her eyes, smiling as she sat on the ledge beside her fiancee. Lisa was playing a song on her guitar, one that Louisa recognised from hearing Lisa's song played on the radio at Jorvik City mall. Tears pricked her eyes at the lyrics, making Louisa's smile only grow wider.

"You know I dedicated that song to you?" Lisa asked as the last chords of the guitar echoed off the cliffside.

"Really?" Louisa asked, looking at her. Lisa smiled.

"Heck yeah," said Lisa. "I wrote it for my friends as well, and for the friendship anthem, but... well, after I kind of ran off on you, I wanted to make it up to you. That's what those lyrics mean. Where the title comes from." Tears glittered in Lisa's eyes as she looked away, and Louisa leaned in to kiss her. She thought it was just her heart thundering.

But then a large black and white Clydesdale jumped behind them, springing off the ledge and onto the rocky cliffside while Daine screamed and red turtle shells slammed into the rock behind him, shattering into red sparks.

"I'm sorry!" Daine called.

"Yes, terribly sorry, you kids have fun, stay safe," said Astor as he also leaped past. Louisa watched them race around the Ancient Tree, a few wolves raising their heads to watch them go.

Somehow, Daine and Astor managed to get back down the mountain without actually tumbling down.

"Why won't you just fucking quit?" Daine screamed at his father figure/actual father.

"Because Astor Fucking Caulfield never quits!" Astor declared as he hurled another shell that Daine ducked. "Oh, that looks like Trouble."

"What?" Despite his better judgement, Daine looked and saw a bay tobiano trakehner with a dapple grey trakehner in a grassy area just off the Firgrove road. "Oh, you mean actual Trouble." 

Trouble had been grazing with Richard but now he raised his head, watching the two race past. He flicked his ears forward, Richard doing the same. Daine really hoped that the two wouldn't join them. He also wondered where the heart of roses around them had come from. And how they'd done that. But then, he was too busy ducking more shells to think much of it.

Vivid memories flashed through Daine's mind as he turned Wisp towards Fort Pinta, his knee giving a twinge of pain. At least Astor didn't have folding chairs, but red shells were just as hard to dodge. As he approached Jarl's tomb, Daine turned down and headed for the beach, Wisp throwing up sand in his wake. Maybe it'd blind Astor.

At the other end of the beach, Roo reclined in the sun. Valentine's Day sucked when you didn't have a partner. And it wouldn't be so bad, only Roo had valid reasons for not dating Linda, and yet, it still stung. She just wanted to keep Linda safe, didn't want her to have to suffer if anything happened to Roo. But damn, it stung when everyone else was loved up and she was alone. Maybe she should go and visit her.

But, just as that thought crossed her mind, Roo heard a commotion from further up the beach. She turned her head, raising her sunglasses in time to see two men on Clydesdales barrelling towards her.

"Daine-yell!" Roo screeched at him, and clenched her fist, the water in the little swimming area obeying her will.

"Hey, I'm not the only bad guy!" Daine retorted, flinging his arm back in the direction of Astor behind him.

"Alright then," said Roo. And, as soon as they were within range, Roo slammed a wall of water into them, sending both men and horses splashing into the swimming area.

"Roo!" Daine cried, annoyed.

"You interrupted my sunbathing," said Roo.

"Your pining, more like," said Astor, shaking water from his hair.

"Fuck off, Astor," said Roo, flipping him the bird.

"I will, after one thing," said Astor, making his way to the shore with Merlin behind him. While Daine got to his feet, Astor formed another red shell and flung it at Daine, sending him toppling backwards into the water. "Get FUCKED, ravioli."

"Asshole!" Daine spluttered, glaring at Astor's retreating back as the man returned to his home in Valedale.

"That's my name!" Astor called.

"Great, now I have to go home and change," said Daine.

"Have fun with that," said Roo airily. "I've already given you a shower."

"Fuck. You," said Daine, his eyes shooting venom at her. Roo only laughed.

As Ella finally clapped eyes on the two horses, she wished that she hadn't searched the entire island looking for them. Really, she hadn't had to go far at all, yet she'd gone all the way to South Hoof and back. Along the way, she'd seen two idiots on horseback racing around, one throwing red Mario shells at the other. But now here were the two boys, almost near the bridge linking Firgrove to the rest of Silverglade. Trouble stood in the heart of roses while Richard brought a rose to him in his mouth, Trouble nibbling the head off the rose.

"That's pretty gay," said Ella. Richard, as ever, ignored her. And Ella, once again, vowed to not tell anyone what had really happened to the roses in Valedale and the winery gardens. Willow could probably regrow them anyway.


End file.
